Articles on Books, articles & talks

Review of Easterly’s Elusive quest for growth

Published by Vivek December 11th, 2008 in Books, articles & talks and Institutional economics. 0 Comments

Book: The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics
Author: William Easterly
Magnanimity of IMF and World Bank leads to policies unfavourable to poor people – The Fund and the Bank did not go far enough, argues Easterly
The Elusive Quest for Growth by William Easterly reviews various theories of growth and the consequent [...]

Edward Said’s talk on ‘Clash of Civilizations’ by Samuel Huntington

Published by Vivek December 11th, 2008 in Books, articles & talks. 0 Comments

Understanding popular theories and their challenges is crucial to understanding institutions. Notions such as Clash of civilisations by Huntington have a powerful influence on how foreign policies are shaped in the United States. In a memorable talk, Edward Said takes on Huntington’s thesis with a powerful critique.
Edward Said incisively analyzes Huntington’s notion that [...]

Best book on India’s development by Amartya Sen and Dreze

Published by Vivek December 11th, 2008 in Books, articles & talks and India. 0 Comments

Book: India: Development and participation
Authors: Amartya Sen & Jean Dreze
My favourite book on India’s development issues. Provides a comprehensive overview of many important development issues
In my opinion this book is gold standard and is a must read for anyone intersted in development issues. Amartya Sen is distinguished for his ability to incorporate a [...]

Easterly’s critique of cash for condoms: a case of poverty of economic approach

Published by Vivek December 11th, 2008 in Books, articles & talks and Institutional economics. 0 Comments

In his famous book Elusive quest for growth William Easterly criticizes World Bank’s attempts to control population. But his ‘economic approach’ and failure to get contextual information makes his analysis poor and prescriptions dangerous. For an overall review of the book, click here
Critique of ‘unwanted babies thesis’
The key theme of The elusive quest for growth [...]

Collected works on Anthropology and institutional economics

Published by Vivek December 11th, 2008 in Books, articles & talks and Institutional economics. 0 Comments

Book: Anthropology and institutional economics
Editor: James M. Acheson
This volume is one of the rare collection of papers I found looking at Anthropology and institutional economics. Surprisingly, though the two have a large scope for collaboration, there is very little work happening between these two disciplines, to my knowledge. This volume provides a useful [...]

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